Top 30 People: 3. IGNACIO MARTIN, CEO, Gamesa

28 October 2015
by James Quilter

Like Runevad, when Martin joined Gamesa in 2012, the company was in a difficult position. The Spanish government was doing its best to kill the industry, and Gamesa, like Vestas, was struggling with too much capacity and too many platforms.

Ignacio Martin has revitalised Gamesa

(2014: 4)

Manufacturer

One of Martin's first announcements was a 20% cut to the workforce.

Since then, he has revitalised Gamesa. It is now the leading OEM by market share in India and Mexico, the number-two in Brazil, and one of the top five in the US and several European markets. He also steadied the turbine offering, focusing on 2.5MW and 5MW platforms.

In terms of contribution to wind, Martin — who joined from CIE Automotive — was one of the first to state wind companies needed to make efficiencies in their manufacturing and learn from the auto sector. He has also been outspoken in his criticism of the Spanish government's lack of support for the industry.

Over the last year, Gamesa has followed Vestas' lead and sealed its Adwen joint venture with Areva to produce an offshore turbine. It has also brought out a number of new turbine options, such as a new low-wind version of the 2.5MW and a new 3.3MW platform.